Some of the participants at the Empowerment Training Programme in Boat Operation and Fishing for the unemployed youths and women organised by Federal College of Fisheries and Marine Technology last week, in Lagos.

The Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) says it has entered into a partnership with frontline maritime lawyer, Barrister Emeka Akabogu and that his law firm, Akabogu & Associates to offer master class training for its members.

National Secretary of ANLCA, Mr. Babatunde Mukaila disclosed last week that the programme is to enlighten ANLCA members who are Chief Executive Officers of companies on identifying their rights in cargo claims and other under hand dealings by terminal operators.

According to him, the training is ongoing and it is holding at the ANLCA National Secretariat in Amuwo Odofin, Festac, Lagos.

Speaking on the programme, Mukaila said: "We have just entered into a partnership with Emeka Akabogu & Associates because we observed that most of our members live on their right. A master class on cargo claims is taking off for chief executive officers in ANLCA"

"There is a lot of undercuts, a lot of activities that the terminal operators, SAHCOL, NAHCO are playing on our members, we believe that there are rules to these kinds of engagements, therefore the class is for 30 CEOs at a time; in batches"

"Our members would come in, get educated, get trained and retrained so that we can have knowledge about what we are doing" he said.

Mukaila explained that certificates were never given to those who participated in the training programme organized by the former Comptroller General of Customs, Abdullahi Inde Dikko for clearing agents.

He however assured the current executives of ANLCA has been able to retrieve the certificates from the Customs authorities, even as he enjoined members who participated in the training to come forward and retrieve their certificates.

He said the training was done at the Customs training school in Ikeja, Lagos.

According to the ANLCA scribe, "The training programme for agents organised by Dikko, there was no certificate, the one organised by Valentina Minta of West Blue; because of no proper agreement, no certificate was issued"

"But now the certificate has been released. How do you want people to come for training if there is no evidence of participation? We have now got the certificates and we want people to start coming for them. It was done by the efforts of our Vice President in our interface with customs"